Why do you build houses out of wood?

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Because we Americans love to chop down forests which provide us oxygen and protect wildlife all for the sake housing developments. And brick is an old school home design. I would imagine it doesn't insulate very well.

Which is funny, because an ever increasing amount of lumber used today is from trees specifically planted for the purpose of cutting them down.

Yeah... pretty much all the trees being cut down now were planting by the loggers 25+ years ago, and as the new loggers cut down the trees they are replanting for their kids to cut down.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Moisture + freezing is the enemy of brick.

that's a HUGE point for anyone one in the northern half of the US where the winters are harsh and unpredictable. This is obviously not a problem in Australia.

Not really. Stucco done poorly can beat up pretty bad by moisture and freezing. A decent brick job should be good for several decades with minimal maintenance.

It's not like a sidewalk, road or driveway where you have pools of water sitting on it and working with the ground to expand and contract.

<----- father is a mason/bricklayer

 

[CPA]

In Texas, homes are made with wood but a brick veneer and/or hardiplank (concrete siding product) is added to the outside.

 

[cherrytwist]

Fear of Kool-Aid Man wreaking havoc.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Mr Pickles

Originally posted by: BradAtWork

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
uhhh...

well, in california, you cant build brick buildings because of earthquake codes

Good point, I didn't think of that.

We just avoid earthquakes.

How do you avoid them? Duck?

Its not the price, but the labor, that makes brick building so expensive. A house made of brick would likely take three times as much time to build. A house with stick walls that can ultimately last 40 years is good enough. Also, you could imagine that changes which might need to be made based on the preference of the owners would be more difficult.

40 years eh? damn that sucks considering most people get 30 yr mortgage on 20 yr old houses already. boy they are fucked!


or maybe they last a hell of a lot longer then 40 years?

You'd think so, but apparently he is the expert.

In the various "old town" portions of cities in Southern California there are house upon house of stick built houses still standing that are easily older than 40 years old, though, all the brick ones have fallen down.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Because we Americans love to chop down forests which provide us oxygen and protect wildlife all for the sake housing developments. And brick is an old school home design. I would imagine it doesn't insulate very well.

Foam filled brick cavity walls FTW!

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Gothgar

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Mr Pickles

Originally posted by: BradAtWork

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
uhhh...

well, in california, you cant build brick buildings because of earthquake codes

Good point, I didn't think of that.

We just avoid earthquakes.

How do you avoid them? Duck?

Its not the price, but the labor, that makes brick building so expensive. A house made of brick would likely take three times as much time to build. A house with stick walls that can ultimately last 40 years is good enough. Also, you could imagine that changes which might need to be made based on the preference of the owners would be more difficult.

40 years eh? damn that sucks considering most people get 30 yr mortgage on 20 yr old houses already. boy they are fucked!


or maybe they last a hell of a lot longer then 40 years?

You'd think so, but apparently he is the expert.

In the various "old town" portions of cities in Southern California there are house upon house of stick built houses still standing that are easily older than 40 years old, though, all the brick ones have fallen down.

hell there are neigherhoods filled of houses built in the 50-60's that are not only still standing they are solid.

there are even some that were built in 1800's still strong.

my farmhouse i had was 70 years old when we moved. sure it needed work but it was a great house.

houses are built to last far longer then 40 years.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: cherrytwist
Fear of Kool-Aid Man wreaking havoc.

OH YEAH!!!

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Because we Americans love to chop down forests which provide us oxygen and protect wildlife all for the sake housing developments. And brick is an old school home design. I would imagine it doesn't insulate very well.

Foam filled brick cavity walls FTW!

AKA "Ice" houses. Very $$$$$$$$

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Bricks don't grow on trees, you know.

 

[Mr Pickles]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: cherrytwist
Fear of Kool-Aid Man wreaking havoc.

OH YEAH!!!

LOL!!!

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Because we Americans love to chop down forests which provide us oxygen and protect wildlife all for the sake housing developments. And brick is an old school home design. I would imagine it doesn't insulate very well.

Which is funny, because an ever increasing amount of lumber used today is from trees specifically planted for the purpose of cutting them down.

That is really a dumb argument. Would you say there are more trees and more forests in the US now or 200 years ago? 100 years ago? Not only pure numbers, but the quality and age of trees? It's akin to saying "Oh slavery isn't an issue because now we rape women for the purpose of producing child laborers"

Actually, it's my understanding that we do have more forests than we did a hundred years ago. Largely in part due to conservation efforts, reforestation, and greater dependence upon tree farms.

 

[miniMUNCH]

Lots of brick houses in the US in non earthquake areas.

Pittsburgh has many, many of stone and brick houses.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: CPA
In Texas, homes are made with wood but a brick veneer and/or hardiplank (concrete siding product) is added to the outside.

don't forget our new crappy stucco houses. builders have no clue how to build them so they're getting massive water damage.

 

[BoomerD]

When you get right down to it, brick is actually a poor building material.
It has ZERO tensile strength
very POOR compressive strength
The same approximate modulus of elasticity as wood.

Concrete is somewhat better in that it has better compressive strength and triple the modulus of elasticity.

Even wood has a better tensile strength and compressive strength, while being much lighter in weight.

Steel of course, beats everything hands down across the various common testing areas.

(spent last semester studying Materials of Construction)

 

[alkemyst]

ATOT welcomes the Aussie Ambassador of Stupid.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
When you get right down to it, brick is actually a poor building material.
It has ZERO tensile strength
very POOR compressive strength
The same approximate modulus of elasticity as wood.

Concrete is somewhat better in that it has better compressive strength and triple the modulus of elasticity.

Even wood has a better tensile strength and compressive strength, while being much lighter in weight.

Steel of course, beats everything hands down across the various common testing areas.

(spent last semester studying Materials of Construction)

was watching one of the home building shows. they had one with a nearly all concrete house. they said while ugly it was strong, safe and was easyer to maintaine temps. Also the cost was cheap.

but the look of it i don't see it catching on.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
ATOT welcomes the Aussie Ambassador of Stupid.

? ignorance <> stupid. He's asking a question about difference in choices of building material between down under and NA. How is that stupid?

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BoomerD
When you get right down to it, brick is actually a poor building material.
It has ZERO tensile strength
very POOR compressive strength
The same approximate modulus of elasticity as wood.

Concrete is somewhat better in that it has better compressive strength and triple the modulus of elasticity.

Even wood has a better tensile strength and compressive strength, while being much lighter in weight.

Steel of course, beats everything hands down across the various common testing areas.

(spent last semester studying Materials of Construction)

was watching one of the home building shows. they had one with a nearly all concrete house. they said while ugly it was strong, safe and was easyer to maintaine temps. Also the cost was cheap.

but the look of it i don't see it catching on.

I wonder if you could put on a brick veneer to fix the eyesore. I would imagine that inside you could finish the walls like you would in a basement (though I'm sure they used stud walls for the interior).

 

[caspur]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
When you get right down to it, brick is actually a poor building material.
It has ZERO tensile strength
very POOR compressive strength
The same approximate modulus of elasticity as wood.

Concrete is somewhat better in that it has better compressive strength and triple the modulus of elasticity.

Even wood has a better tensile strength and compressive strength, while being much lighter in weight.

Steel of course, beats everything hands down across the various common testing areas.

(spent last semester studying Materials of Construction)

Then surely you know of ICF? Its the best part of the brick, without the brick.

 

[BeauJangles]

It also depends on the region. Look at Philadelphia vs Boston. A very high percentage of the houses around Philly are stone, while most houses around Boston are wood. I think it has (had?) a lot to do with local availability of resourcse.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: caspur

Originally posted by: BoomerD
When you get right down to it, brick is actually a poor building material.
It has ZERO tensile strength
very POOR compressive strength
The same approximate modulus of elasticity as wood.

Concrete is somewhat better in that it has better compressive strength and triple the modulus of elasticity.

Even wood has a better tensile strength and compressive strength, while being much lighter in weight.

Steel of course, beats everything hands down across the various common testing areas.

(spent last semester studying Materials of Construction)

Then surely you know of ICF? Its the best part of the brick, without the brick.

If by ICF you mean Insulated Concrete Forms, then yes, it has great building properties...
MUCH better strengths than brick, better insulating properties, but as mentioned above, just doesn't look good by itself.

Concrete can indeed have brick revetments, and MOST brick houses in the USA are just stick construction with brick revetments.(cladding) that only adds appearance, not strength.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: BoomerD



If by ICF you mean Insulated Concrete Forms, then yes, it has great building properties...
MUCH better strengths than brick, better insulating properties, but as mentioned above, just doesn't look good by itself.

Concrete can indeed have brick revetments, and MOST brick houses in the USA are just stick construction with brick revetments.(cladding) that only adds appearance, not strength.

You can also install vinyl siding over concrete so it looks just like a wood house.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: BoomerD



If by ICF you mean Insulated Concrete Forms, then yes, it has great building properties...
MUCH better strengths than brick, better insulating properties, but as mentioned above, just doesn't look good by itself.

Concrete can indeed have brick revetments, and MOST brick houses in the USA are just stick construction with brick revetments.(cladding) that only adds appearance, not strength.

You can also install vinyl siding over concrete so it looks just like a wood house.

Certainly. There are LOTS of facade options for concrete houses. Concrete is a much better building material all around than brick, it's just not as "pretty," something that can be easily overcome.

 

[seemingly random]

Vinyl siding is too noisy.